Vehicle door lock actuator

ABSTRACT

A lock actuator mechanism for vehicle doors, especially rear passenger doors has a child safety facility and provision for locking the door even if powered actuation is inoperative. A main power driven locking lever rocks between its locked and unlocked condition with respect to a T-shaped driven output lever, one arm of which has a longitudinal slot. Co-axial with the T-shaped driven output lever is a drive input lever operated by the interior door handle and having an L-shaped slot. A drive dog pin is received in both slots and linked to a security actuator lever co-axial with the main power driven locking lever. The security actuator lever can be shifted by a button accessible only when the door is open and can be set to shift the dog pin into the lateral part of L-shaped slot disabling the interior door handle for child safety. The security actuator lever can also be used to set the lock manually if power should fail by drive engagement of a pin thereon with a slot in the main, power driven, locking lever.

This invention relates to lock actuator mechanism for doors and otherclosures of vehicles. It has particular application to actuatormechanisms forming part of locking systems of the kind in which theindividual locks are power operable and interconnected through a centralcontrol unit for electrical actuation whereby locking or unlocking ofall doors can be effected from a single control station operable fromwithin or outside the vehicle, herein referred to as "central lockingsystems".

The object of the invention is to provide actuator mechanismincorporating a child safety facility which is convenient and reliablein operation, of simple and durable construction, which can readily beprovided by modification of existing patterns of latch and lockingassemblies, and which enables the respective door to be secured even ifpowered operation should break down or fail.

According to the invention there is provided vehicle door lock actuatormechanism including

(a) a housing or other mounting formation;

(b) a drive input lever fulcrummed on said formation and havingoperative connection to an interior manually actuable element (e.g. aninterior door handle) selectively operable to shift said lever about itsfulcrum axis between first and second angular positions;

(c) a driven output lever having operative connection with latchingmeans whereby displacement of the output lever from a first to a secondangular position releases the door from a latched condition in use;

(d) coupling means comprising a drive dog having connection with one ofsaid levers so that it is positively displaced on angular movementthereof and engaging a drive formation of the other of said leversextending longitudinally of an arm thereof and having a portion shapedto permit relative movement between the dog and said arm laterally ofthe latter;

(e) a security actuator linked to the drive dog and selectively movablebetween first and second positions to shift the dog longitudinally ofsaid lever arm between an engaged condition respective to the firstposition at which the dog couples the levers for angular movement inunison, and a lost motion child safety condition respective to thesecond position at which the dog is aligned with said portion so thatangular movement of the input lever between its first and secondpositions is not transmitted to the output lever for releasing thelatch, said actuator being manually operable by means renderedinaccessible by the closing of the door;

(f) a main locking lever or other main locking element selectivelydriven by a main power actuator between a locked condition at which theassociated latch is secured against release and an unlocked positionfreeing the latch for release; and

(g) a lost motion connection between the security actuator and the mainlocking element permitting operation of the locking element withoutaffecting the setting of the security actuator to its said first andsecond positions, but movement of that actuator to a third positioncarrying the locking element to the locked condition whereby themechanism can be set to lock the door on closing for securing thevehicle without operation of the power actuator.

Conveniently the output lever is fulcrummed on the mounting formationco-axially with the input lever and an arm of the output lever is insubstantially face to face relationship with an arm of the input leverwhen both levers are at the same angular position, the drive dogengaging drive formations extending longitudinally of both arms andbeing shifted therealong by the security actuator.

The security actuator and the main locking element may both be leversand may be fulcrummed co-axially, the drive dog being carried on a linkpivotally connected to an arm of the security actuator lever and saidlost motion connection including a pin carried by the actuator lever armco-acting in an arcuate slot in an arm of the locking lever.

Said actuator lever will be operatively enclosed in the door structureexcept for an operating button or other formation exposed in or on asurface part of the door which is accessible for manual engagement onlywhen the door is open.

An example of the invention is now more particularly described withreference to the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 a side elevation of components of a lock actuator mechanism;

FIGS. 2 and 3 are elevations of said components showing them inrespective different operating positions, and

FIG. 4 is a like elevation of a modified form of said components.

The mechanism described will be incorporated into a vehicle door latchand locking assembly of known kind having remotely controlled poweroperation as part of a central locking system of the vehicle. Only suchparts of the latching and locking mechanisms of the assembly as arenecessary to the understanding of these examples of the invention arehere described and shown in the drawings.

The assembly will include latching means (not shown) releasablyretaining the door at the closed position, the latching means beingreleased for opening the door by the operation of interior or exteriordoor handles (not shown). The door concerned will typically be a rearpassenger door of the vehicle, the rear seats being commonly occupied bychildren who are there often remote from adult supervision.

Said assembly includes a mounting formation (not shown) locating itsvarious components and constructed to form a housing on and within thestructure of the respective door in use substantially containing andprotecting them both from ingress of dirt and from any unauthorisedprobing or other access with a view to tampering with the mechanism.

Referring now to FIGS. 1-3 of the drawings said assembly includes lockactuator mechanism having a main locking lever 10 secured on a driveshaft 12 of a main powered actuator (not shown) incorporating ailelectric drive motor. This actuator is selectively operated from thecentral system to shift lever 10 angularly between a locked positionshown in FIG. 3 with its arms generally horizontal, and an unlockedposition shown in FIG. 1 rotated clockwise by about 300 from the lockedposition. Lever 10 is connected for actuation of the locking mechanismof the assembly in known manner.

A generally T-shaped drive output lever 16 is fulcrummed on a fixedpivot 13 spaced below locking lever 10 as viewed in the drawings and hasa pair of generally horizontal arms 20, 22 and a third generallyvertical arm 24 extending downwards from its fulcrum.

Arm 24 includes a longitudinal drive formation in the form of a parallelsided slot 26.

Fulcrummed co-axially with lever 16 on pivot 18 is a drive input lever28 extending generally vertically from pivot 18 so that its major partis in face to face relationship with slotted arm 24. The distal end oflever 28 is connected to the interior door handle, actuation of thelatter causing angular displacement of lever 28 through a linkage (notshown).

Lever 28 also includes a drive formation in the form of an invertedL-shaped slot 30 having a vertical lower limb 30a co-incident with thelower part of slot 26 in arm 24 when levers 16 and 28 are at the sameangular position, and a generally horizontal limb 30b forming an upperslot portion which extends laterally to the right as viewed in thedrawings.

A headed pin forms a drive dog 32 which is engaged through both leverslots 26 and 30. Dog 32 is carried on the lower end of a link 34., itsupper end being pivotally connected to the distal end of one arm of asecurity actuator lever 36. Lever 36 is fulcrummed co-axially of lever10 but can move angularly independently of drive shaft 12.

The other arm of lever 36 has an operating button 38 at its distal endwhich is accessible for manual operation through an arcuate slot 40 inthe door casing or other door structure. Lever 36, and indeed theremainder of the above mechanism is otherwise enclosed in or on theassembled door against access. Slot 40 is covered and inaccessible whenthe door is closed.

With the door open security lever 36 can be moved using button 38between a first position mid way along slot 40 shown in FIG. 1 and asecond or child safety position to the bottom of slot 40 shown in FIG.2. In the latter position dog 32 is shifted upwardly to co-act with theupper portions of slots 26 and 30. In this position the horizontal limb30b of slot 30 permits angular movement of drive input lever 28 withoutany motion being transmitted to output lever 16, thus rendering theinterior door handle inoperative by disabling its drive connection tothe latch mechanism.

This child safety condition prevents the door being opened from theinside. In this particular application there is no sill button or othermanually operable element on the inside of the door for locking orunlocking the related assembly, this can only be effected by poweredoperation with the door closed.

To restore operation of the inside door handle the door must be openedfrom the outside, lever 36 can then be set to the first position(FIG. 1) and this shifts dog 32 down slots 30 and 26, linking levers 20and 16 for movement in unison. Normally powered operation will sufficefor all operating conditions; the central locking system enables lockingand unlocking of some or all of the vehicle doors from the outside,typically by a hand-held remote control device of known kind emitting acoded infra-red or ultrasonic signal to a pick-up on the vehicle bodyusually associated with the driver's or other front doors. The centralsystem ensures that all the doors and/or other closures are secured withcorresponding cancellation unlocking the mechanism when a door is to beopened.

Failure of the central locking system might occur, most commonly due tothe vehicle being left parked and locked and the battery going flat(e.g. if lights have inadvertently been left switched on) or, morerarely, due to failure or malfunctioning of electrical components of thesystem. Hence provision is made for at least one door on the vehicle tobe unlocked and locked manually in such emergency, independently of itspower actuation, from the vehicle exterior as by providing aconventional key-operated lock cylinder on a front door.

Absence of power actuation may occur with some or all non-key operatedlocks in an unlocked condition. So that all the doors can be secured,e.g. so that the vehicle can be safely left unattended while gettingassistance the mechanism further includes means for effecting manuallocking.

Said means comprises a pin 42 at the distal end of the left hand arm oflever 36, conveniently also serving as the pivotal connection of link 34therewith. Pin 42 projects into an arcuate slot 44 in lever 10 .

Slot 44 provides lost motion connection between levers 10 and 36 so thatdrive dog 32 is not displaced from the selected position by the poweredlocking and unlocking movement of lever 10. If the power has failed withthe door unlocked it can be opened. Using button 38 lever 36 can then beshifted to a third position shown in FIG. 3, to the top of slot 40. Thisengages pin 42 with the bottom of lever slot 44 driving lever 10 to thelocked position. The door can then be slammed shut while set locked sothat it cannot be opened from outside.

FIG. 4 illustrates a modified construction. Security actuator lever 436is single armed and instead the operating button 30 of lever 36 isprovided with a boss 437 having a cross groove for engagement by a coin,the end of a key, or the like for manual operation through an alignedhole in the door casing or other structure, accessible only when thedoor is open.

The form of the drive input lever 428 is also different, its driveformation slot 430 is shaped as a T turned on its side so that there isa lateral extension mid way along its length. The other components ofthe FIG. 4 mechanism are as previously described and operate in the sameway, except that the child safety condition is provided when dog 32 ismid way of slot 430, and is cancelled making the inside door handleoperative when it is at either end of that slot.

It will be understood that the drive formation which includes a portionshaped to permit relative lateral movement between the drive dog and therelated lever arm could be provided in the arm of the output lever 16,while the arm of the input lever 28 has a simple longitudinallyextending slot or other drive formation.

What is claimed is:
 1. A vehicle door lock actuator mechanismcomprising:a. a mounting formation; b. a driven input lever fulcrumed onsaid mounting formation for operative connection to a manually actuableelement inside the vehicle door selectively operable to shift saiddriven input lever about its fulcrumed axis between a first and a secondangular position; c. a driven output lever for operative connection withlatching means whereby displacement of said driven output lever from afirst to a second angular position releases the vehicle door from alatched condition in use; further characterized in that said vehicledoor lock actuator mechanism includes: d. coupling means including adrive dog having connection with one of said driven input lever or saiddriven output lever so that said coupling means is positively displacedon angular movement thereof and engaging a drive formation of the otherof said levers extending longitudinally of an arm thereof and having aportion shaped to permit relative movement between said drive dog andsaid arm laterally of said drive dog; e. a security actuator leverlinked to said drive dog and selectively movable between a first and asecond position to shift said drive dog longitudinally between anengaged condition with respect to the first position at which said drivedog couples the levers for angular movement in unison, and a loss motionchild safety condition respective to said second position at which saiddrive dog is aligned with said second position so that angular movementof said driven input lever between the first and the second position isnot transmitted to said driven output lever for releasing said latchingmeans, said security actuator lever being manually operable by meansrendered inaccessible by the closing of the vehicle door; f. a mainlocking element selectively driven by a main power actuator between alocked condition and an unlocked condition wherein the associated latchmeans is secured against release in the locked condition and is freedfor release in the unlocked condition; and g. a lost motion connectionbetween said security actuator lever and said main locking elementdefining means for permitting motion of said main locking elementwithout affecting the setting of said security actuator lever to thefirst and the second position, and for permitting movement of saidsecurity actuator to a third position carrying said main locking elementto the locked condition; whereby said vehicle door lock actuatormechanism can be set to lock the vehicle door on closing for securingthe vehicle without operation of said power actuator.
 2. The mechanismas defined in claim 1 wherein said driven output lever is fulcrumed onthe mounting formation co-axially with said driven input lever and thearm of said driven output lever or said driven input lever is insubstantially face-to-face relationship with an arm of the other of saiddriven output lever or driven input lever when both levers are at thesame angular position, said drive dog engaging drive formationsextending longitudinally of both arms and being shifted there along bysaid security actuator.
 3. The mechanism as defined in claim 1 whereinsaid security actuator lever and said main locking element are bothlevers and are fulcrumed co-axially, said drive dog being carried on alink pivotally connected to an arm of said security actuator lever andsaid loss motion connection including a pin carried by the actuatorlever arm co-acting in an arcuate slot in an arm of said main lockingelement.
 4. The mechanism as defined in claim 1 wherein said securityactuator and said main locking element are both levers and are fulcrumedco-axially, said drive dog being carried on a link pivotally connectedto an arm of said security actuator lever and said lost motionconnection including a pin carried by the actuator lever arm co-actingin an arcuate slot in an arm of said main locking element.